Audit Commission finds 16 serious failures as it gives maintenance zero stars
Hull council’s repairs service is among the worst in England, according to the Audit Commission.
The report into Hull’s maintenance service, published last Friday, gave it zero stars. Only five other councils have received no-star ratings for repairs in the past year.
The commission found 16 serious failures at Hull and makes 64 recommendations for change.
It said that four years after the government first defined a decent homes standard, 71% of Hull council’s stock failed to meet the target.
The report follows two damning corporate governance inspections – the last in November 2003 – that led to the appointment of an ODPM team to help put the council back on track.
The failings listed included:
- significant waste in the service – the local authority has admitted that £2m a year could be saved by improving basic operations
- no valid gas safety certificate in April for 3927 homes – more than one in 10 of the council’s properties – which represented a safety risk to tenants
- no plan to deliver decent homes or ensure investment in stock that has a long-term sustainable future
- investment in refurbishing homes that were set for demolition the market renewal pathfinder
- no consistent standard that homes must meet before they can be let.
The commission said it was not confident that service improvements would be made, given the council’s poor track record on implementing recommendations.
It was particularly concerned by an apparent inability to procure services properly, despite improvements instituted after the arrival of government appointees at the end of last year.
It said there were no processes in place to ensure value for money in repairs procurement and no politically approved plan for compliance with the rules on procurement set out by Sir John Egan in his 1998 Rethinking Construction report and adopted by the sector.
Hull council has already tackled some problems including the gas safety certificates, which are now “nearly 100% compliant”.
But opposition councillor Dave McCobb, lead member for housing for the Liberal Democrats, said: “It is vital that urgent action is taken, particularly with the constant threat of government intervention.”
Steven Bayes, housing portfolio holder, said: “There will be challenging issues to address, most importantly on procurement, as we make the necessary improvements.We can do it and we need to continue to do so.”
An ODPM spokeswoman said the government was committed to helping the council improve. “We never thought this would happen overnight. There’s no change of plan.”
Source
Housing Today
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